Digital Transformation Can Boost UAE GDP by USD 14 Billion by 2020

Dubai – MENA Herald: Digital transformation can boost the UAE’s GDP by nearly USD 14 billion by 2020, according to SAP, market leader in enterprise application software, and a recent Accenture report, in advance of GITEX Technology Week. The Accenture report reveals that if the UAE government and businesses optimize digital skills, technologies, and accelerators, then the UAE’s GDP would increase by USD 13.8 billion by 2020.

SAP to Showcase Digital Transformation Innovations for Governments and Organizations at GITEX

At GITEX Technology Week, SAP will exhibit its transformative technologies under the theme of “Run Simple, Run Live,” showcasing dozens of SAP HANA demos across topics like the optimized visitor experience, audience engagement, and the SAP Digital Boardroom that can all be localized to future government initiatives and mega-events. SAP HANA is the company’s ground-breaking in-memory platform.

At the Smart Dubai stand, SAP experts will also share details and case studies about innovative airport, government services, and retail customer successes.

For example, the Barcelona Tourist Network allows visitors to plan their tourist itineraries and receive geo-location based offers from restaurants, shops, and museums. Cirque du Soleil uses SAP mobile apps to have audience members vote on a show’s plot, and Super Bowl 50 used augmented and virtual reality SAP apps to allow fans to play, track, and share experiences, and analyse game-day statistics.

“The Digital Economy has the unique power to enhance our world: to enrich the urban experience, and drive cost savings for government agencies, multi-national companies, SMEs, as well as startups – and ultimately promote economic competitiveness. For the UAE, as a global leader at the crossroads of innovation, this is critical,” said Steve Tzikakis, Senior Vice President and General Manager for South Europe, Middle East, and Africa at SAP.

The SAP Digital Boardroom demo will also demonstrate how real-time technology can provide organizations with full visibility across their business and drive real-time decision making, while also serving as control rooms for future cities and mega-events, analysing myriad insights including details on crowd heat maps to traffic.

“Real-time technology is the foundation for innovations such as the visitor experience at mega-events, Future Cities across the UAE, and citizen services in line with UAE Vision 2021, Dubai Plan 2021, World Expo 2020, and Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. Public and private sector UAE organizations have the ambition and lack of software legacy infrastructure to rapidly adopt the digital core to drive innovation, and support the UAE’s rapidly-growing Digital Economy,” said Tayfun Topkoc, Managing Director, SAP UAE.

Startup Focus Supports Middle East Entrepreneurs and Gender Diversity

SAP has also been selected as the Startup Partner for the GITEX Startup Movement, which aims to be the most global startup event in 2016, hosting hundreds of startups and investors from around the world.

The SAP Training and Development Institute will use the GITEX Startup Movement as a launchpad for its Startup Focus on HANA Middle East roadshow. The program aims to incubate and accelerate startups in data analytics, according to Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, SAP Training and Development Institute.

“Gathering the world’s leading startup players under one roof at the GITEX Startup Movement provides the ideal opportunity to harness the power of Big Data analytics to contribute towards driving the Digital Economy in the Middle East and worldwide. SAP is committed to support the Middle East’s leading entrepreneurs, and encourages gender diversity enabling female entrepreneurs to succeed,” commented Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, SAP Training and Development Institute.

Marita Mitschein will also contribute insights during the GITEX Startup Movement panel discussion “Leadership is Gender Blind: How Can Women Take a Lead of the Surging Startup Revolution” on Wednesday, 19 October.

SAP Accelerates Business ByDesign in MENA

GITEX attendees can also experience the capabilities of SAP Business ByDesign, a single cloud ERP solution that can be quickly deployed to manage mid-sized companies and subsidiaries of large corporations. This complete and integrated pay-as-you-go software-as-a-service suite is powered by the SAP HANA platform and covers customer service, financials, human resources, procurement, sales, and supply chain management.

“Mid-size business are the growth engine of economies in the Middle East region. We are excited to unleash the power of best in class, multi-tenant cloud ERP to help fuel growth, maximize profit and expand business internationally,” concluded Herbert Schut, SAP Vice President Business by Design for EMEA-MEE.

SAP will also present the winners of the UAE Quality Awards on Tuesday, 18 October.